The Excalibur Award was established by the Rockford Register Star in 1971 to annually honor an individual whose outstanding service and commitment have made the Rock River Valley a better place to live, work and raise families. The winner receives a crystal Steuben Eagle.

Community involvement: "Our 'community involvement' extends beyond the boundaries of the Rock River Valley. Our service area, LaMontagne, Haiti, is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. The 'community' involvement consists of us and our local volunteers treating malnutrition, life-threatening infectious diseases, critical hypertension and performing surgical procedures. We spend four weeks a year in Haiti, treating hundreds of patients daily. Literally, thousands of local people have made this possible by contributing their time, talents and resources to help those who so desperately need our assistance. This generosity not only reaps rewards for the people of Haiti, but also for those that are so caring and selfless," said the Underwoods.

What the nominator said: "I've known the Underwoods for more than 10 years, and I strongly recommend them. I'm very impressed with all the work they've done in Haiti. They go twice a year, two weeks at a time. They treat 300 to 400 patience a day."

— John Sheridan, a retired FBI agent

What inspires you to do what you do? Over the years, thousands of generous Rock River Valley residents have overwhelmed us with their financial support, donations of medical supplies, encouragement and prayers. Without this, we would be unable to continue to serve the poorest of the poor. The Haitians we serve continue to acknowledge and praise their American benefactors.

Our Haitian patients, many who walk several hours in the hot sun and rough terrain with an injury or illness, wait patiently for hours in order to be treated by a doctor or nurse in our clinic. Often, with tears in their eyes, smiles on their faces, they say "Thank you for taking care of us and saving our lives. Even though we are unable to pay you, God will."

We are also inspired by the loyalty, commitment and dedication of our many volunteers.

Several doctors, nurses and lay personnel from the Rockford area have given up the comfort of their homes, precious time with their families and their jobs to utilize their talents for some of the most impoverished people in the world.

What is the biggest challenge? The coordination, organization, procurement of medical supplies and medications in order to treat nearly 8,000 annually is one of our biggest challenges.

Page 2 of 2 - Since minimal supplies and medications are available for purchase in Haiti, the bulk of what is required to treat the various medical conditions must be purchased, packed and taken with us to Haiti. Often we will take more than 1,200 pounds of supplies on each mission.

We are also challenged in coordinating, scheduling and providing safe travel and living conditions for team members of each mission.

If you had $1 million to give away, what would you do with it? The old proverb, "Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime," is the philosophy that Friends of the Children embraces. During the past 15 years, we have taught 15 local health care providers to care for the sick and injured people in their villages when we are not there. We also have provided education and medical supplies to 18 local midwives. If we were given a million dollars, we would expand support for education and health care in the local community. We believe that healthy and educated people will prosper.

Something positive in Rock River Valley that you would like to see further developed: Rockford is truly unique in the aspect that there are so many selfless, generous individuals and groups who believe in and practice giving back. We would like to see more emphasis placed on recognition of these individuals and their contributions.

What needs to happen in the region to develop, train and retain our brightest students? Our attention needs to be developing meaningful employment. This needs to be augmented with progressive improvement and support of the local educational system. With meaningful employment all of the associated difficulties that we have will be minimized.